Upholstered furniture inserts

ABSTRACT

An upholstered furniture component including a frame; a rigid foam insert attached to the frame; and upholstery material covering the foam insert. The rigid foam insert may be made from expanded polystyrene. And, a layer of padding may between the rigid foam insert and the upholstery material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Serial No. 60/383,876, filed on May 28, 2002, and is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/360,798,filed on Feb. 10, 2003. The entire contents of both applications areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to furniture construction for upholsteredfurniture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Conventional construction techniques for upholstered furniturerequire substantial time and skill on the part of the workersfabricating the furniture. In one such technique, illustrated in FIGS.1-3, a wooden frame or skeleton 2 is constructed for a chair arm (FIG.1). Thereafter, the frame is covered with a stiff skin 4 (FIGS. 2-3)onto which a layer of foam or padding and then upholstery material canbe applied. In order to obtain three-dimensional shapes theaforementioned wooden frame and cardboard skin are currently used.Because the wooden frame is complex and difficult to make, such atechnique limits the shapes that can be made and requires much time tomake.

SUMMARY

[0004] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,upholstered furniture is constructed having a wooden frame which is muchsimpler and requires less cross bracing parts, than a typical woodenframe. An insert is attached to the wooden frame to form the desiredthree-dimensional shape. Additionally, the upholstered material isapplied to the insert. In some embodiments, a layer of soft orcompressible foam or padding is arranged between the insert and theupholstered material.

[0005] According to another embodiment of the invention, an insert isprovided for an upholstered furniture component. The upholsteredfurniture component includes a frame supporting the insert and anupholstery material covering the insert. The insert comprises a rigidfoam material having one portion thereof shaped to conform to the frameso that the rigid foam material can be attached to the frame and anotherportion of the rigid foam material shaped to correspond to an outershape of the upholstered furniture component.

[0006] Other features of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional chair arm frame;

[0008]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a conventional chair arm skin;

[0009]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the chair arm skin of FIG. 2applied to the chair arm frame of FIG. 1;

[0010]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a chair arm frame according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of foam inserts according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the foam inserts of FIG. 5 appliedto the frame of FIG. 4 according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0013]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the foam inserts as applied to theframe of FIG. 6 and including an additional insert according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the frame and insert combinationof FIG. 7 having upholstery material applied; and

[0015]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Reference is made to FIGS. 4-8 which illustrate a chair armcomprising one embodiment of the present invention. Although a chair armis shown and described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilledin the art that the present invention is applicable to other structuralcomponents for upholstered furniture and the like, such as the frontstump.

[0017] As seen in FIG. 4, a frame 10 according to the present inventionis disclosed. While the frame 10 as depicted in FIG. 4 is made of wood,the frame 10 could also be made of metal or other suitable structuralcomponents. The frame 10 comprises a plurality of structural componentsarranged in the shape required. FIG. 5 illustrates rigid foam inserts12, 14, 16 used to complete the desired three-dimensional shapes.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5, the inserts are in the form of rigid foamcomponents. The inserts are preferably formed from molded expandedpolystyrene, but could be any expanded foam or any other lightweightstructural or forming material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or acopolymer material.

[0019] The inserts can be made by any suitable process known to those ofordinary skill in the art, including molding, thermoforming, blowmolding, or even carving or cutting. In one embodiment, the inserts canbe formed from by cutting, molding, or by thermoforming a sheet ofplastic material. One preferred method uses expanded polystyrene moldingwith standard foam molding techniques and a tool customized to thedesired final shape due to the consistent repeatability of the desiredshape.

[0020] In one embodiment, the inserts 12, 14, 16 are rigid, i.e.,substantially incompressible under normal use. Whereas in otherembodiments, the inserts 12, 14, 16 may be of a foam that, whileproviding significant support, does yield a little under pressure.

[0021] One preferred type of expanded polystyrene foam has a density inthe range of 0.75 to 6.0 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive stressat 10% compression (strain) of 30 to 800 kPa, more preferably has adensity in the range of 1 to 3 pounds per cubic foot and a compressivestress at 10% compression (strain) of 80 to 375 kPa, and most preferablyhas a density in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot and acompressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 120 to 280 kPa. Suchcompressive stress values are determined at ambient (room) temperatures.One acceptable test is set forth in EN 826.

[0022] In one embodiment the inserts include two top arm components 12,14 and a side contour pad component 16. FIG. 6 shows the foam inserts12, 14, 16 attached to the frame 10. The foam inserts 12, 14, 16 arepreferably adhered to the frame 10 by staples but could also be adheredby adhesive, nails or tape.

[0023]FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment in which an additional foaminsert 18 is adhered to the front of the chair arm frame 10 providingdecorative ornamentation including concentric circles 20. It should berecognized to one having skill in the art that alternative decorativeshapes can be provided. These decorative shapes can be of a more complexform than those made by traditional methods.

[0024]FIG. 8 shows a finished chair arm having upholstery material 22attached to the frame 10 and inserts 12, 14, 16 and 18 using normalfurniture industry standards.

[0025] According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention,the upholstery material 22 can be attached directly to the frame 10 andinserts 12, 14, 16, and 18. Alternatively, a layer of soft foam or othertype of padding can be arranged between the inserts 12, 14, 16, 18 andthe upholstery material 22. Such soft foam or padding is known to thoseof skill in the art.

[0026] While the embodiments illustrated in the FIGS. 4-8 include aportion of the frame 10 extending to the edge of the inserts 12, 14, 16,alternative embodiments may include foam inserts that completely coverthe frame 10 such that the frame is not exposed. In such embodiments, itmay not be necessary to use a layer of soft foam between the inserts andthe upholstery material. In those embodiments, the inserts arepreferably made of the rigid foam material, as described above.

[0027]FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment, wherein the frame 110includes a top substantially planar surface 115 to which asemicylindrical insert 112 is attached. A second insert 114 is attachedto a side surface 117 of the frame 110. According to this embodiment,manufacturing can be simplified by utilizing inserts having simple orcomplex geometric shapes and large planar surfaces. Another advantage ofthis embodiment is that the entire upper surface of the frame 110 iscovered with a single insert 112. Accordingly, there is no woodenportion extending to the top part of the furniture component.

[0028] Although the invention has been described in terms of particularembodiments in an application, one of ordinary skill in the art, inlight of the teachings herein, can generate additional embodiments andmodifications without departing from the spirit of, or exceeding thescope of, the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is understood that thedrawings and the descriptions herein are proffered only to facilitatecomprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit thescope thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An upholstered furniture component comprising: aframe; a rigid foam insert attached to said frame; and upholsterymaterial covering said foam insert.
 2. The component of claim 1,wherein, said rigid foam insert is formed of expanded polystyrene. 3.The component of claim 2, further comprising a layer of padding betweenthe rigid foam insert and the upholstery material.
 4. The component ofclaim 1, wherein the component is an arm of a chair or sofa.
 5. Anupholstered furniture component comprising: a frame having asubstantially flat planar upper surface; a rigid foam insert attached tosaid flat planar upper surface; and upholstery material covering saidfoam insert.
 6. The component of claim 5, wherein, said rigid foaminsert is formed of expanded polystyrene.
 7. The component of claim 6,further comprising a layer of padding between the rigid foam insert andthe upholstery material.
 8. The component of claim 6, wherein the rigidfoam insert has a density in the range of 0.75 to 6.0 pounds per cubicfoot and a compressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 30 to 800kPa.
 9. The component of claim 6, wherein the rigid foam insert has adensity in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot and acompressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 120 to 280 kPa. 10.An insert in an upholstered furniture component, the upholsteredfurniture component including a frame supporting the insert and anupholstery material covering the insert, the insert comprising a rigidfoam material having one portion thereof shaped to conform to the frameso that the rigid foam material can be attached to the frame and anotherportion of the rigid foam material shaped to correspond to an outershape of the upholstered furniture component.
 11. The insert of claim10, wherein the insert is made of expanded polystyrene.
 12. The insertof claim 10, wherein padding is arranged between the insert and theupholstery material.
 13. The insert of claim 10, wherein the componentis an arm of a chair or a sofa.
 14. An insert in an upholsteredfurniture component, the upholstered furniture component including aframe having a substantially flat planar surface supporting the insertand an upholstery material covering the insert, the insert comprising arigid foam material having a flat surface shaped to conform to thesubstantially flat planar surface of the frame so that the rigid foammaterial can be attached to the frame and another portion of the rigidfoam material shaped to correspond to an outer shape of the upholsteredfurniture component.
 15. The insert of claim 14, wherein the insert ismade of expanded polystyrene.
 16. The insert of claim 14, whereinpadding is arranged between the insert and the upholstery material. 17.The component of claim 15, wherein the rigid foam insert has a densityin the range of 0.75 to 6.0 pounds per cubic foot and a compressivestrength at 10% compression (strain) of 30 to 800 kPa.
 18. The componentof claim 15, wherein the rigid foam insert has a density in the range of1.5 to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive strength at 10%compression (strain) of 120 to 280 kPa.